Bonded
by SkyGem
Summary: Modern AU. As the son of Stoick Haddock, principal of the most prestigious Dragon Riding school in the world, Hiccup H. Haddock has got a lot to live up to. But with his lack of the natural confidence and leadership qualities his family is known for, Hiccup is seen as a disappointment in the eyes of many, including his...Full summary inside.
1. This Is Berk

Summary: Modern AU. As the son of Stoick Haddock, principal of the most prestigious Dragon Riding school in the world, Hiccup H. Haddock has got a lot to live up to. But with his lack of the natural confidence and leadership qualities his family is known for, Hiccup is seen as a disappointment in the eyes of many, including his own father. Therefore, it comes as no great surprise to anyone when, at the traditional Bonding Ceremony on his first day at Berk Riding School, none of the school's dragons are willing to choose him as a Bond-mate. What does come as a surprise, however, is learning that he is already Bonded, and has been since he was a little child.

SkyGem: Hey guys! A pleasure to meet you all! This is my first time writing for this fandom and I've gotta say, I am a bit nervous for it. This first chapter fun to write though, and if y'all like it even half as much as I do, then I'll have considered it a huge success. But I'm sure you all don't want to hear me make stupid speeches. Let us move on to the story!

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><p>The ocean was dark and wild, the waters deep and dangerous, teeming with some of the most dangerous creatures known to man.<p>

And among the tossing waves of this violent ocean was one lone island, neither too big in size, nor too small.

Nearly half the island was taken up by a lush and beautiful woods, and in place of the other half was a bustling little town.

"This...is Berk. It's worlds away from any kind of civilization and populated completely by crazy teachers and stressed out students. And the only reason anyone would call this miserable place home is...that."

A large, sprawling campus lay in the very heart of the town, and the sign above the entrance to the grounds bore the proud name of "Berk Riding School." Walking up the path to the school was a steady stream of students; one could easily tell which of the students were new from their wide-eyed stares and longing looks towards the elder students, the majority of whom had arrived on the backs of their Bonded dragons.

"Behold. The most prestigious Riding school in the entire world. Just graduating from this school is enough to get you a job in most places, even if you just barely scraped by in your classes. Graduating with decent marks will have employers fighting tooth and nail to have you work for them. And if you're at the top of your class? Well, you're set for life. The pri-"

"Hey! Watch it, kid!"

Stumbling forward as an older student's shoulder collided with his, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock nearly had a heart attack when his favourite camera almost fell out of his grip.

Fortunately, the teen caught it just in time and pulled it close to his chest, cradling it gently and willing his heart to slow down.

The camera had been a gift from his mother for getting accepted into the academy (not that there was any way he wouldn't haven't been accepted, considering his father was the principal) and having to tell her he'd already managed to drop it within twenty-four hours of receiving it would not have been a fun task.

Sighing forlornly at the fact that the introduction to the documentary he'd been filming had been ruined, Hiccup shut off his video camera and slipped it back into its bag, deciding he'd try again later, when there were less people around for him to piss off by bumping into them.

He was currently stood five paces away from the entrance to the school grounds, and he found it was harder than he'd thought it would be to bring himself to step through the gates.

Of course, having the principal as his father, Hiccup had been inside Berk Riding Academy more times than he could count and had long since explored all of its nooks and crannies, becoming intimately familiar with all its winding hallways.

But this was different from all those times.

This was the first time he would be entering the school as a student. This time he could finally count himself among the amazing, talented students of the school his father ran.

And by this time tomorrow, his lonely existence would finally be over! By this time tomorrow, he will have performed the Bonding Ceremony and met the dragon that would be his companion for the rest of his life.

What kind of dragon would it be, he wondered.

Hiccup had always had a fascination with Deadly Nadders. Maybe he could get one of them to bond with him? It wasn't very likely though, considering how very vain they were.

A Timberjack or a Changewing would also be very cool, but knowing himself, he'd probably get stuck with a Terrible Terror.

That would be disappointing. They were basically useless!

Shaking this terrible thought out of his head, Hiccup took a deep breath and stepped onto the grounds, feeling giddier than he could ever remember being in his entire life.

The young teen was slightly disappointed that stepping onto school grounds wasn't any different this time than it had been the last hundred times he'd done it, but he refused to let it get to him.

Turning towards the boys' dorms, Hiccup picked up his pace, excited all over again and wondering what his roommate would be like. Hopefully he wouldn't be too annoying or full of himself.

But who knew, maybe he'd be a cool guy and they could even become friends!

Hiccup hadn't had a friend in a long time.

Smiling at all the possibilities his new school life would bring, Hiccup strode confidently towards where he knew his room would be located.

His life was about to get a whole lot better.

He just knew it.

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><p>SkyGem: So that's it for now! I'm sorry this was so short! My first chapters usually are. But I promise the next one will be longer, okay? So please leave a review and let me know what you thought! And if you have any ideas of what you want to happen in this fic, let me know! Maybe I'll integrate it into the story! With credit to you, of course! Anyways, that's it for now! Bye!<p> 


	2. The Roommate

Hiccup stood in the doorway, looking around at the room that would essentially be his home for the next four years. It was exactly like all the other dorm rooms on campus, both sides mirroring each other.

One side of the room was already extremely messy, the bed sheets strewn everywhere and clothes in messy piles all over the floor. On the bed sat an open suitcase, personal effects spilling out. The owner, however, was nowhere to be seen.

Even odder than the fact that his absent roommate had already turned the place into a pigsty was that, at exactly the middle of the room, the mess just...stopped, as if it had encountered an invisible barrier.

Beyond this unseen barrier, on what Hiccup assumed was his side, everything was completely untouched. The bed had pristine sheets, the bookshelves were empty, the bedside table clear. The only things to be seen were the piles of boxes filled with Hiccup's belongings, and the suitcase of clothes on his bed.

At least his new roommate knew how to respect boundaries.

Walking slowly into the room, Hiccup looked around warily, almost expecting for his roommate to pop out from underneath one of the piles of clothes.

When, after a few quiet moments, no one was forthcoming, he sank down onto his bed and put his camera bag aside, ignoring the clothes he had to unpack in favour of checking his phone for texts.

Not that anyone other than his parents had his number, of course.

As Hiccup was shooting off a text to his mother insisting that, _yes, he had arrived safely and no, no one had bothered him_, a blond strode into his room and stopped short upon seeing him.

There was a moment of silence as the two boys stared at each other, sizing each other up.

"You're Tuffnut Thorston," said Hiccup after a few moments of silence, feeling surprise run through him. The Thorston family had a Dragon Riding history almost as long and prestigious as the Haddocks, and the twins did a pretty good job in living up to their family name, unlike Hiccup.

There was also the fact that, after a whole life-time of sharing their belongings and having everyone treat the two of them as only one person, the Thorston twins were known to be extremely territorial, and possessive of their belongings.

"And you're Hiccup the Useless," replied the blond with a condescending smirk. Going over to fall onto his bed, he asked, "So, how did you even pass the entrance exam? Did daddy have to pull some strings?"

Scowling darkly at the sudden turn this conversation had taken, Hiccup bit out, "No, actually, I got perfect scores on the written portion. Honestly, I'm surprised that _you_ got in, considering you can barely read."

Jerking upright, Tuffnut glowered at Hiccup, replying, "Well, unlike _some_ people, I actually have this thing called coordination. And stamina, and strength!"

This time Hiccup was the condescending one, saying, "That's only about a quarter of the exam."

"Well, contrary to what some people may believe," hissed out Tuffnut, "I'm not completely stupid. I know I'm not the smartest out there, but I _am_ a Thorston. I know enough about dragons to pass an entrance exam."

"So you just barely passed," stated Hiccup, smirking at the other boy. "And you're calling _me_ useless?"

"Well, at least _I'm _talented in all the ways that _really_ matter. You can't even stay on a dragon for more than five seconds! At least when I bond with a dragon, I'll know how to properly ride him! I feel bad for the dragon that gets stuck with you! If any of them even bond with you, that is."

When Hiccup heard this, it was almost as if he'd had all the breath completely knocked from him. It was as if Tuffnut had looked into his head and plucked out his single greatest fear and was now waving it around in front of him mockingly.

Before Hiccup could get his mind to start working, the fierce glaring match between the two young males was interrupted by a knock on the open door.

When they saw who was standing in the doorway, Tuffnut immediately jumped off his bed to stand at attention.

"Headmaster Haddock!" he greeted stiffly, and Stoick nodded at him in greeting.

"Mr. Thorston," he said.

"Did you need anything, sir?" asked Tuffnut, the picture of respect.

In reply, Stoick shook his head, saying, "I'm not here as headmaster. I'm here as a father."

Tuffnut looked a little confused at this, but Hiccup didn't pay him any mind.

"Hey dad," said Hiccup with a slightly strained smile.

"Hiccup," greeted his father, beckoning him forward with a wave of his hand.

The two Haddocks left the room together, closing the door behind them and leaving behind a still confused Tuffnut.

"So, you…you arrived safely," said his father after a few moments of awkward silence.

"Yeah, mom dropped me off on Cloudjumper," replied Hiccup with a shrug. "Can't get much safer than that."

Stoick nodded and was quiet for a moment as if trying to think of what to say. Finally, he asked, "And Valka*…is she doing well?"

"You saw her yesterday, dad! And you're going to see her again when she comes down tomorrow after finishing up her business back home!" replied Hiccup in an exasperated voice. "Why don't you ask her then?"

"Yeah…yeah, I'll do that," replied Stoick, not letting Hiccup see the hurt he was feeling at the brusque reply.

"Anyways, can I go now? I've still got a lot of unpacking to do," said Hiccup, itching to get away from this intensely awkward conversation.

"Yes, of course," replied Stoick with a nod. As Hiccup was walking away though, he called out once more.

"Oh, and Hiccup?"

"Yeah, dad?" asked Hiccup in barely masked irritation as he turned back to look at his dad.

"Congratulations, son. On getting accepted, I mean."

Hiccup stood, shocked, for a moment before a tentative but genuine smile came onto his face.

"Thanks, dad," he replied, his smile growing wider as he turned away and headed back in the direction of his dorm.

Stoick stood watching his son going, a smile growing on his face in response to his son's.

It had been far too long since he'd seen Hiccup smile at him like that.

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><p>After the conversation with his dad, Hiccup was in a surprisingly better mood than he had been before, and he didn't want to ruin that by getting into another argument with his new roommate so instead of going back to his room, he turned towards another destination.<p>

Hiccup often spent his summer vacations on Berk, exploring the island and basically trying not to be a nuisance as his parents spent some much-needed quality time together, got ready for the coming school year, and kept the students who'd decided to stay during summer vacation from wreaking too much havoc.

This summer, however, he had been too busy at home to do so; too busy packing for school, being excited that he would finally be able to attend the Academy, pestering his mom for information, and being fitted for the brand new riding gear his parents had agreed to buy for him after much pestering.

And this wouldn't have been much of a problem, seeing as Hiccup already knew the island like the back of his hand, if not for the fact that, at this very moment, there was probably a certain very irate dragon waiting for him.

Taking a deep breath as he stepped off school grounds and into the surrounding forest, Hiccup started the ten minute trek to the cove where his best friend liked to spend most of his time.

The teen hadn't even made it halfway there before he was suddenly knocked to the ground by a great big ball of energy.

"H-hey Toothless!" Hiccup gasped out, trying to pull air into his lungs as the Night Fury stood with both front feet planted on Hiccup's chest, growling quietly.

"A-ah, can you please get off of me before I suffocate, bud?" said the teen, pushing at his friend's chest, and after a few more seconds of growling, Toothless sat up, still glowering at the human.

Sitting up and gasping in as much air as his lungs could hold, Hiccup spent a few moments just trying to return his breathing to normal while Toothless sat and stared at him through hooded green eyes.

"Look, bud, I'm really sorry I couldn't come see you this summer," said Hiccup, "But I was a bit busy at home, and didn't really have much time. I'm sorry I worried you. Forgive me?"

Toothless glared at his human for a few seconds more before finally leaning forward and, without further ado, licking a long stripe up Hiccup's face from chin to hairline.

Staggering back, Hiccup immediately started wiping at his face with his sleeve, shouting, "Gross! Toothless! You KNOW that doesn't wash out!"

In reply, Toothless just chirped happily and began prancing around Hiccup, stopping once to help nudge his human to his feet before continuing.

Hiccup shook his head and smiled fondly at the dragon, remembering back to the first time they'd met.

Against his parents' wishes, he'd gone exploring in the woods and had gotten himself stuck in a cove with walls too steep for a child to safely navigate.

The five-year-old had sat, huddled into a little ball of misery by the lake, for about five minutes before the dragon who lived in that very cove had noticed his existence.

When Hiccup had noticed the pitch black dragon making its way slowly towards him, he'd let out high-pitched shriek of pure terror, having finally realized where he was.

He was in the _Night Fury's Cove_.

The students of the Academy all avoided he cove like the plague because of the temperamental Night Fury that had taken up residence there almost twenty years ago.

The group of students who had discovered it had all nearly had their heads blown off by it, and since then, the place was considered off limits to everyone.

Instead of doing any number of horribly things to him, though, the Night Fury had nosed curiously at him for a few moments before smiling at him from a toothless mouth, and thus was a beautiful friendship born.

Suddenly, Hiccup was knocked out of his reminiscence by a head-butt to his side, and when he came back to attention, he found that while he'd been spaced out, his friend had led them back to the cove and he was now just a few steps away from a rather dangerous fall that would, at the very least, lead to a broken arm or leg.

"Ehe…thanks bud," he said, scratching Toothless' head, to which the dragon replied with an eye-roll and a nudge in the right direction.

A few minutes later, Hiccup was seated at the shore of the lake with his back to a sun-heated rock and Toothless curled up beside him, his great big head resting in Hiccup's lap.

Sighing as he relaxed into the familiarity of this moment, Hiccup said, "You know, bud, I'm going to miss this when I'm Bonded."

Toothless just purred happily in reply, not paying a bit of attention to Hiccup's words as he enjoyed the clever fingers scratching at his head.

"I mean, yeah, I'm looking forward to Bonding. Who wouldn't? I'm finally going to have a partner, someone who won't look down on me and who'll stay by my side. But I doubt any of the school's dragons are going to be like you, bud."

Hiccup stared into space for a moment before finally voicing the one desire he'd never admitted to himself.

"If only I could Bond with you bud. But dad would never let that happen. It's against school policy to Bond with wild dragons. Not that you're wild at all. I mean, you're probably tamer than half the dragons we have. And definitely the smartest."

Toothless snorted when he heard this, as if to say, _Of course I am. They're all idiots._

"But then you're also extremely proud," laughed Hiccup, "I mean, I can't imagine you ever letting _anyone_ ride you. Let alone me, who's never actually rode a dragon by himself.

"Too bad, huh?"

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><p>SkyGem: Well, that's the end of chapter 2! I hope you all liked it! Please do leave a review and let me know what you thought of it, eh?<p>

*I was originally going to name his mother Valhallarama, but on the wiki it said that in HtTYD 2, her name was going to be Valka, so I decided to go with that, since this is going to be based mostly on the movie!verse. Just wanted you all to know.


	3. Bonding

SkyGem: Hello my lovely readers! I'd just like to start of by apologizing greatly for the super long wait you've all had to endure for this chapter! I'm sure I've lost a lot of you by now, but for those who are still waiting, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.

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><p>When Hiccup awoke on his first day of school, it was to the soft, rolling tones of the alarm he had set on his phone the night before.<p>

Rolling over with a groan, he grabbed the phone off his bedside table and jabbed moodily at the screen, still half-asleep and grumpy at being woken up.

He'd hoped that a gentler alarm would make waking up easier, especially since he had to be up a whole hour earlier today than he was used to.

No such luck.

Yawning widely, the brunet sat up, pushing his hair out of his eyes and looking around, trying to orient himself.

The sky outside had just begun turning a dusty pink, and he had just two hours until he and the other first years were expected at the Hangar for the Bonding Ceremonies to begin.

As soon as that realization hit, Hiccup jumped out of bed, his stomach flipping and flopping and doing a number of other things stomachs did when a person was nervous.

Tuffnut, meanwhile, was still snoring loudly in bed, and there he stayed for the next hour and a half, as Hiccup went about showering and brushing his teeth and generally just stressing out.

Finally, just as Hiccup was about to leave for breakfast, after checking multiple times that his hair was as manageable as it was going to get, a loud, obnoxious alarm rang through the air.

It went on for several moments, and Hiccup was just beginning to wonder if his roommate had possibly died in his sleep, when the lump in Tuffnut's bed moved, and a head of messy, blond dreadlocks popped out of the covers.

Looking around, dazed, he grunted out, "What time is it?"

"7:30," replied Hiccup, expecting Tuffnut to hop out of bed, worried about being late.

Instead, the blond just smiled widely, and said, "Sweet. I'm early."

"Early?" demanded Hiccup, his eyes widening as he turned back to the other boy. "We're supposed to be in The Hangar in half an hour!"

"Exactly!" replied Tuffnut with a yawn, sitting up and reaching out for a hair tie on the nightstand next to him.

Hiccup's eyes narrowed, as he tried to figure out what exactly it was that was wrong with his roommate, before shaking his head and turning to leave. That would take way more time than he currently had.

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><p>After a quick breakfast eaten alone, Hiccup hurried to the Hangar, not wanting to be late, and in the process ended up being one of the first few to arrive.<p>

There were only about seven other students there ahead of him, out of the ninety-nine other students in Hiccup's year, and none of them was anyone he knew.

Berk Riding Academy took in students from all around the globe, so it wasn't surprising that Hiccup didn't recognize these students. In fact, if he'd remembered correctly from what his father had told him, there were only five other Norwegian students starting this year.

Each of the kids already in the room looked up at him when he entered, each of them perking up as they recognized him.

Hiccup hated this.

Hated that no matter where he went, he was known because of his father.

It always got everybody's expectations up, which made it that much more humiliating when he inevitably didn't live up to the person they thought he was.

Eventually, they all went back to talking amongst themselves, and Hiccup was free to go and sit on a bench in the far end of the room, by himself.

He watched as, one by one, the other new students in his year trickled into the Hangar, each of them taking a moment to survey everyone else in the room, always taking extra long to study Hiccup himself.

Five minutes before eight, Astrid Hofferson walked in with Ruffnut Thorston, as big a mismatch as ever there was. Bafflingly however, the two girls had been good friends since they were young, despite how different they were, and Hiccup wouldn't be surprised if they had ended up as roommates. His father knew that putting Ruffnut with Astrid would temper the girl's naturally mischievous nature just enough so that it was at least bearable.

Fishlegs Ingerman followed in not long after the girls, walking meekly behind a group of students who had to be either American or Canadian, by the sound of their accents. Guessing by the way Fishlegs occasionally gave his input into their conversation, they were probably friends of his from Canada. Fishlegs used to be a childhood friend of Hiccup's, but the boy's family had moved to Canada when Hiccup was seven, and the two had lost touch soon after.

The Hangar quickly filled up, and just before the doors closed at 8, a group of latecomers rushed in, completely out of breath, and among them were Tuffnut Thorston, looking exhausted but presentable and quite proud of himself, and Hiccup's cousin, Snotlout Jorgenson.

The latter threw Hiccup a haughty smile when he saw him, before moving to the from of the crowd, just below where the principal would stand to address them.

Hiccup got up from where he was sitting to join in the crowd.

If he was off to the side the whole time, the chances of him finding a dragon would be much lower.

Finally, when all one hundred students were gathered in the center of the Hangar, the principal stepped out onto his balcony.

The hum of conversation quickly dropped as everyone noticed him, and before long, all that could be heard was the rustling of clothes and the scuffing of feet as kids nervously shifted their weight.

Mr. Haddock stared down at the students, his gaze flowing over the crowd, and resting for a second on his son before moving on.

"As I'm sure many of you know," he began, "I am not a man who likes to waste time on formalities. But before I like to begin, I would just like to say, welcome! Congratulations on passing the entrance exams, and I hope you will all continue to do well in your studies!"

A loud cheer went up from the crowd of students, each of them proud to have the approval of this intimidating and important man.

Mr. Haddock smiled a moment, before lifting his hands to request silence. He got it.

"And now that that is over, let us get to the important part! The Bonding Ceremony!"

Another cheer went up from the students.

As his father quickly went over what exactly would happen during the Ceremony, Hiccup looked around in curiosity.

He knew this speech backwards and forwards, word for word.

What he was more interested in was the building he was currently standing in.

The Hangar was a large, four story building that usually served as a nesting place for the students' dragons.

Today, however, it was more than half empty.

The older students' dragons would be back to claim their dens after the Bonding Ceremony was over.

At the moment though, there were two hundred unbonded dragons nesting on the first two floors, and at the end of the day, half of them would be staying, while the other half were returned to the sanctuary they lived at during the year, waiting for the next ceremony, and their next chance to find their Rider.

The dragons would be released in bunches, groups of the same species going at the same time.

The pickiest species would be up first – more students to choose from meant a more likely chance they would find a rider they liked.

Suddenly, there was the sound of multiple doors opening, and Hiccup snapped back to attention.

While he had had his head in the clouds, his father had finished up his speech, and the first group of dragons had been loosed onto the waiting teens.

There were a few squeals and noises of surprise, but as a whole, the kids were quiet, stock-still.

Hiccup tried to relax himself; he knew there wasn't any real danger here. These dragons had been raised and trained by licensed professionals to be careful and conscientious of the fragility of humans. Otherwise, there was no chance parents would let their children be exposed to them.

But he had to admit, it was rather hard to relax when there were three typhoomerangs stalking around, surveying them all and poking their heads forward here and there to sniff at them.

At one point, one of them stopped right in front of Hiccup, and the boy almost forgot to breathe.

There was no freaking way he was going to Bond with a typhoomerang. It seemed too good to be true!

The dragon approached him, seeming curious, and it was the only one of the three that had seemed to find someone it was interested in.

It stuck its head close to Hiccup, sniffing at his clothes.

Hiccup looked up and around the room, still completely disbelieving, and he noticed that almost all eyes in the room were on him.

Certainly his father looked quite hopeful. Hiccup knew he had always been worried that his son wouldn't continue the Haddock tradition of Bonding with extremely moody, picky dragons. Stoick himself had a thunderdrum, after all!

But just as Hiccup was about to reach his hand up, for the bonding, the typhoomerang took a sniff at his hipbone, and immediately backed away, head lowered, whining pitifully. Almost as if it had encroached on another's territory.

The other students began muttering amongst themselves, wondering at what had happened, and Hiccup thought he heard his cousin make a joke about how the typhoomerang had realized what a loser Hiccup was.

But he wasn't really paying attention to Snotlout.

There was a horrible suspicion growing within him, and he didn't know whether he should be relieved or happy or absolutely horrified.

He tried to stuff the thought into a tight little box in the back of his mind, but somehow it kept escaping to taunt him. It was something he had never allowed himself to want, a possibility he had never allowed himself to consider.

He watched, distracted, as the typhoomerangs returned to the dens they had been in before, none of them having chosen a rider.

Other dragons came out, one after the other.

For the first little while, it was quite slow, as the picky dragon species kept true to their natures.

There were a few that were chosen.

One of the two Hideous Zipplebacks ended up choosing the Thorston twins as their riders, each head burning the proof of their bond into the hands of their chosen twin.

The two refused to use the burn cream that they had been given earlier, which would help ease the pain and swelling from their new trophies. They claimed they were tough enough to handle it on their own.

A Monstrous Nightmare ended up choosing Snotlout, and boy made sure to throw a gloating look towards Hiccup, as if to show off his amazing new partner, and Hiccup turned away, trying not to feel jealous.

After the Deadly Nadders came out (one of whom chose Astrid as her rider), things began to pick up.

A gronckle ended up choosing Fishlegs, and quite a few dragons approached Hiccup as well, including a changewing and a timberjack and a thunderdrum (Stoick had looked especially hopeful at that one), but they all had the same, strange reaction as the typhoomerang.

And with each new encounter, it became harder and harder for Hiccup to ignore his suspicion about what was really going on.

But in the end, when all his peers had been chosen, and Hiccup was standing alone in the middle of the large room, he could no longer keep it quiet.

He hadn't been the only one to notice the strange reactions of the dragons.

When the last two of his peers had been chosen and the dragons returned, Stoick stomped down the stairs to the ground floor to confront his son.

His sharp eyes had watched each of Hiccups encounters with the dragons that had attempted to bond with him, and their reactions were worrying, to say the least.

He knew what it meant when a dragon backed off like that, when they lowered their heads in submission like that.

And the answer explained so many of the strange quirks about his son, it explained that maybe he wasn't such a screw-up of a father and it wasn't his fault that Hiccup had turned out...like Hiccup.

There was relief tugging at his heart, and he tried his best to ignore it, because there was a more pressing question at the moment.

There weren't many dragons out there that could scare a _typhoomerang_, of all things, into submission.

Hiccup stared up at his father in confusion and fear, and when Stoick was close enough, without saying a thing, he reached out, and pulled his son's shirt up slightly to study his torso.

"D-dad?" asked Hiccup, startled and indignant.

There, sitting nestled on his left hipbone was a jagged scar like a vicious lightning bolt, stretching halfway up Hiccup's torso.

Stoick had seen it before, but had never really paid attention to it. It was thin and silvery and not very painful looking, especially when compared to all the other scars his son had from his "adventures" on this very island.

But looking at it now, Stoick cursed himself for his stupidity.

Now that he knew what to look for, it was glaringly obvious. The way the skin in the area was slightly discoloured, and harder than the rest of his torso, the way it was puffy and ugly and just a bit shiny, like a burn scar.

Dropping Hiccup's shirt, Stoick backed away, meeting his son's gaze.

"Call it," he growled, and murmurs of confusion rose from around him, the students wondering what on Earth he could be talking about.

But Hiccup knew.

Stoick could see it in his face. Stoick knew that his son had had the same creeping suspicion as him during the entire ceremony.

Hiccup backed away, shaking his head just slightly.

"He won't hear me," he said quietly.

"He will," replied Stoick, sure of himself. "No matter where he is. Or what he's doing. He will hear you. And he will come."

Hiccup gulped, looking at his father with a nervous expression.

Finally, after an intense staring match, he whispered something.

"Louder!" snapped Stoick, getting impatient, despite his best efforts.

Gulping again, Hiccup took a deep breath, then bellowed at the top of his lungs, "TOOTHLESS!"

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><p>SkyGem: And, that's a wrap! So, what did you guys think? You like? There's quite a bit of context and world-building done in this chapter, and I really like how it came out. But I want to know what YOU guys thought. Leave me a review with your honest opinion! Love it? Hate it? Lemme know! And for now, goodbye! I'll see you all in a few weeks with the next update!<p> 


	4. Damage Control

"Toothless!"

There was complete silence after Hiccup's outburst as the other students looked around expectantly. Most of them seemed to have guessed what was going on, and were curious as to what kind of dragon "Toothless" was.

They waited and waited, but the silence stretched on, and they began to get restless, the room suddenly filled with the rustling of clothes and the murmurs of students.

After a moment's thought, Stoick decided to dismiss the other first years.

For all he knew, his son's dragon might be on the other side of the world, and wouldn't arrive for hours.

But then, before he could say anything, there was the whistling of wind, the telltale sound of something approaching through the air at a startlingly high speed.

And the next thing anyone knew, a snarling dragon shot through one of the den entrances, and came to a hovering halt above them all for just long enough so that they could recognize it as the dragon from the Night Fury's Cove.

Within seconds, its roving eyes found Hiccup, and it swooped in, curling protectively around him and snarling violently at Stoick on the ground, who had dived out of the way just seconds before he was squashed under Toothless' considerable bulk.

The dragons in the room had reacted before the humans, most of them shrinking back and whining in distress, their bodies curled around their riders, protecting them despite their fear. Some of the more aggressive dragons were snarling back at Toothless, teeth bared and delicate wisps of smoke curling out of their nostrils.

Stoick's own thunderdrum, Thornado, had jumped off its previous perch and was one of the dragons that had gone on the offensive.

As the students realized what was happening, there arose the murmur of wary conversation as they wondered if they should come to their headmaster's assistance.

Panicking, Hiccup grabbed at his dragon's shoulder, yelling, "Stop it, Toothless! I'm alright~ It's just my dad!"

Hearing the panic in Hiccup's voice, Toothless kept growling at Stoick and Thornado.

After a moment of struggling against Toothless' tail, Hiccup was able to step around his dragon, and get between him and Thornado.

Hiccup turned his back on Thornado, earning him a distressed whine from Toothless, who tried to get around him.

Hiccup was having none of that.

"Stop it, Toothless!" he demanded, placing both hands, one on top of the other, on the bridge of Toothless' nose, between his eyes, and pushing his face back.

As a human, Hiccup was no match for Toothless' strength, but Toothless backed down anyways, acknowledging the stern disapproval in his friend's voice, and his distinct lack of fear.

Realizing that there was no immediate danger here, Toothless huffed out a disgruntled breath, sending a puff of smoke right into Hiccup's face.

Hacking and coughing, Hiccup waved the smoke away, glaring and barking, "Toothless!"

Ducking his head, Toothless retracted his teeth and smiled sheepishly at Hiccup in apology.

Rolling his eyes, Hiccup turned to face Thornado, and saw that his father had stood up by now and was staring at Hiccup with wide, shocked eyes, as was everyone else in the room. Now that Toothless was no longer on the offensive, the other dragons had also calmed down, although most were still shielding their riders.

Meeting his father's gaze, Hiccup chuckled awkwardly and stepped to the side so he could see Toothless, now that he was sure neither side was going to kill each other.

"Dad, this is Toothless," he said, gesturing to the night fury, who was now on his best behaviour, trying to look as harmless as possible with his lips pulled into a large, gummy grin.

Stoick stared at him for a few moments, as if unsure how to react, before turning his gaze on his son and asking, "How long?"

Chuckling awkwardly, Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck and said, "Uh…since I was five?"

He said it like a question, as if he himself was unsure of the answer.

"AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ANYONE!?" roared Stoick, and Hiccup flinched, startled. Toothless wrapped his tail protectively around Hiccup's waist and pulled him back towards himself. He was growling again, and Hiccup laid a comforting hand on his head to let him know there was still no danger.

"I didn't know we were bonded!" replied Hiccup, his voice raising involuntarily.

"How could you not know?" demanded Stoick. "You have the Mark!"

"How was I supposed to know that was a Mark?" asked Hiccup. "It's not like I've ever seen a Night Fury's Mark! No one's bonded with one in, like, a century because of how rare they are! I thought he accidentally hit me when he was protecting me from a wild dragon!"

"A wild-!" Stoick cut himself off with a growl, running a hand through his hair. "What were you even doing in the forest? Your mother and I have told you over and over again not to go in there! It's no place for a child! You could have been killed! And then what would we have-!"

He cut himself off again, only this time it wasn't because of anger, and Hiccup felt suddenly guilty. He'd never seen his father this emotional before.

"You should have told us!" said Stoick once he'd found his voice again. "We could have helped!"

"I knew you were going to freak out!" replied Hiccup, leaning back against Toothless' reassuring warmth. "Anyways, I didn't need help! It's not like Toothless was hurting me!"

"That's not what I meant!" replied Stoick, turning back to the other first year students. Hiccup had completely forgotten about them, and was now feeling suddenly very self-conscious.

"Who here can tell me why child-dragon Bonding is now frowned upon in most countries?" he asked, and several hands shot up. "Miss Hofferson!" he picked.

Astrid stepped forward, back straight and standing at attention. "The younger a Rider is when they meet their dragon, the more powerful their bond is," she says, eyes flickering over to Hiccup for a second before returning to his father. "A child's brain is still developing at that age, so they end up becoming extremely dependant on the bond."

She fell silent, and when Stoick turned to face Hiccup again, his face was hard as stone. "That's right," he said. "And why is that a bad thing?"

Astrid seemed to be in her element, because she replied immediately, "When the Bond is forged that early and that strong, the body forgets how to live without it. So if the child is separated from their dragon for a significant period of time or if the dragon dies, it can severely affect the child's physical and mental health. That's why, in most countries, riders Bond with their dragons as teenagers. By that time, they've gone through puberty, and chances of becoming too dependent on the bond are little to none."

Hiccup cast his gaze downward, feeling thoroughly chastised. He hadn't even considered any of that. He wanted to tell his dad to stop, that he understood his mistake, but Stoick was in teacher mode now, and would not stop until he was sure everyone else had understood as well.

"And what happens to a child who is separated from their dragon, by death or otherwise?" asked Stoick. "Mr. Lalani," he said, pointing to a Pakistani boy, who looked startled to have been chosen.

He stuttered for a few moments before saying, "Physically, their growth may be stunted, and their coordination will be thrown off. Many children who had lost their bonded dragon in the past either wasted away, or were in fatal accidents caused by their lack of coordination."

"Correct," said Stoick, nodding in acknowledgement. "And the mental repercussions? Miss Jheon?"

"Learning difficulties and trouble concentrating are common symptoms," said a pretty Korean girl, who had Bonded with a gronckle. "As well as symptoms of depression and social anxiety."

Stoick was now pacing back and forth in front of the students, nodding in approval. "And can anyone guess why Hiccup isn't displaying any severe symptoms despite Bonding at five years old?"

"Well obviously, it's because the Haddocks and Jorgensons are AWESOME!" called out Snotlout without waiting to be called on; his father was Stoick's younger half-brother, so he was technically in the Haddock clan.

"No, you idiot!" called out Ruffnut Thorston from her place by Astrid and Tuffnut. "It's because his dad is the headmaster!"

This garnered some giggles from the rest of the students, and Ruffnut looked around in confusion for a few moments until Stoick turned to her.

"Elaborate, Miss Thorston," he said, and the giggling stopped.

"Well, you spend most of your summer here, so your family probably comes to Berk to spend time with you, right?" Ruffnut said, as if the answer was obvious.

"Correct," said Stoick, an approving smile on his face.

"So since he was spending time with his dragon every summer, his symptoms weren't that severe!" said Tuffnut, finishing his sister's explanation.

"Thank you,, Mr. and Miss. Thorston," said Stoick, turning back to the students. "Now, I hope you all learned something today!"

"Yes, sir!" answered the students all at once.

Stoick nodded. "Good. I'm sure you're all buzzing to get going. Enjoy your last day of relaxation, but make sure you're prepared for classes tomorrow!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Good. Dismissed!"

The students left, still chattering about what had just happened, most already with their phones out to tell their older friends about it too.

The newly Bonded dragons had left too, following their riders like puppies. And before long, the only people left were Hiccup, Stoick, and the crew from the dragon sanctuary, who were already prepping the unbonded dragons for the journey home.

Turning to his son, Stoick crossed his arms, and frowned down at him.

"Unfortunately, Hiccup, I'm afraid you won't be spending today like your classmates."

Hiccup looked up to meet his father's gaze, suddenly apprehensive.

"Why?" he asked.

"You and I, and…Toothless are going off campus to do some damage control."


End file.
